Latch casing



April 7, 1953 F. J. RUSSELL ET-AL LATCH CASING 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 FiledJune l, 1950 L N STVNO $5M? m d w ak; 2M2 0M2 53 Z Ra mp w U H PatentedApr. 7, 1953- UNITED STATES PATENT- Lmren CASING- Frefiiqliussell;Beverly Hills-Raymond Wi-Diet" rich; Bel-l; and-George B. s'olevieff,Sent-h- Gate,

Ga2li'f., assignors, by mes'ne assignments, to-

'Ii0yola University Foundatidm Los A nge'lesg.

fialifi aznonprofit corporation of California AppIicafibnJune 1 1950,serial N 1651528" 3 Claims; Cl. 2925-337) 'i'n' alatch combination alatch casehou'sing the latch 'eleinentsfiand embodying mating case partswHi'charefioinameto complete-- the case and providing' aninterlocking-throat arrangement f'unc tio'ningf'asone offiheprima-rymeans for rigidly securing the-case parts to'getlier'and asa mounting means for attaching the latch assembly-to-th'e edge of" adoor:

-A'n= a'ddi'tio'nal object of theinventi'on is to pro vide' postindexing means in ala'tch combination whereby aligned holes the-latchcase" receive in dex posts extending from the knob assembly mountingplateor" an equivalent; to align the latch assembli longitudinally andsupport the sam*e*but permittinglateral adjustment required by thetliiok-ness of the door" and the lateral positioning as governedby themounting of a cooperatingface plate and mounting means asseeiated withthe throat of the-latch ease.

- l lese and other" sweets and advantages 'will Ice-made furthenapparent "from a consideration of the followingdescription-takeriirrconjunction with the drawings;

-Iii-t-l'i'e drawings:

--Figure*--1-is ahorizontal plan view e f our latchassemblyihcombihatibm with adoor' knob -as- Sammy; mounted in adoor," the-latterand a, door jamb being illustrated -in-section.

Fig-use 2 1s: viewtakenon :line 2- -2 of Fig ure -l r 1 Figure 3 is aperspective View or the latoh as-= sembly shown in Figuresi and 2 with acooper at-ihg'. face -plate: separated th'erefrom'.-

Figure: e in amemargedi section: taken. on the:

linees eofiiiigureaziu EigurezS isia sectionztahen onthei line:fiz-aofst 7 Figures 4;.

Figure 6 is azse'ction; takemonathezlineia-tlof Ei'gnrei'Tis-la .sectiomtaken on" the liner I -"l of Eigure: 5.

Eigure.- 8: 18 32566191011: taken on line-u8--8-- oft:

Fig-11118: 5

Figures-1 9: is a .perspeotivezvievw oftthe-latehrzcase with the twomating SeGfiibTlS" separated, and-the;

'Our' latch assembly "20" isillustrated in asse i elation with doorknobassemblies- 2-1 mounted -in a door 22Whioh is in proximity to a dooijanib 23 on which a strike plate 24 is fixed;

The latch assembly is characterized by 'a ease 2% embodying novelstructural an'd functiiii'ial features which will" become apparent asthe: de

scription proceeds.

The latch case: 25* comprises matinghalves 26 I and 2-7 secured:together at the throat? 281w self-contained tab and slot combinations.which;

will be described subsequently in more detail;

The two halves: as: and: 2 1 are identical; but may The case' emhodie's,in addition t'o the most 2%; a central IlOuSil'lgiZSQflnd a sspringcchannel end 'sfia Thethroat guidesia: sliding; latch bolt;

3 5 the central: housing? confines'and suppoitts many of the latchoperating parts; toxbe rde. scribed,and thesprin'g channelend'tlooateaand- ,houses a; pair oil springs-"352 whichz normally advanoe atm'ain slide; member: 36.

The latch bolt 3| is fOImEdLWithI a socketfik:

which receives a: tubular member 38; the latter bei'ngfrigidly connectedWithithEl bolt by) a trans -q: verse p'inzfifi which is1staied H l Acompression springxifli seats: within the? tubular member 38,

hearing" at. oneen'di against the pinz 39-. Its: other: end? bears:against" a spri'ngseat lzlodged against? a; fixedzspacer i3.v Thespring: lWyieldablyurges' the: bolt 3;] to! its advanced .position-..-

The:- spacer-"N, seen in elevation: in' Figure: 8;;has-straightp'ara-lleh edges 44 and-a 45.-correctly:1 dimensioned: to.space the case: halves 26: and: 25!? of the: latch: case- 25.oppositely-extending; tabs: 4.6 4 and- 41' extend: throughs1ots-48 and=49 in the casewh'alves; and are: staked to assist" in securingv the#two: halves together. i

The: main slide member 3% is:'- a; U-shaped ele-' ment, the legs ofwhich have an arcuate cross section: as seen in' Figure 8 and: which:are supported and guided bythe. interior walk surface-of the case. Theenclcross piecewhich'closesthew U engagesagainstkthe for-wardefacefirfiv-of alflangea or block 5 7 at the-inner endiofs the tubularmember38. Retraction ofthe'main'slide member with;

suffioientifonceto overcome the: resistance of I the springs 35-and 46will draw thelatchnbolt inI-- wardly. i 1- has free reducedends- (iiiengaging, the compression springs" 352 The opposite ends of thesesprings seat against? Thev main slide member .36

5 the; end Wall 66 of; the cases i I *sh ed-: c r fi 'at-therear ormesses:-

3 formed with side plates 68 which are parallel to the chord of the arcdefined by the curve at the top and bottom of the case as seen in Figure8 and their free ends terminate at the rear end wall 66. I Slots H areprovided in the plates for supporting and guiding the springs 35. Thediameter of the springs is greater than the width of the slots 1|, andthe springs are so confined by case halves 26 and 21 as to be always inslidable, guided engagement with slots 1|, nested between the latch caseand the walls of the slots.

The forward end piece 69 of the spacer 61 is provided with ears 12 whichextend through slots 13 in the case and are staked to assist in securingthe case halves together.

The main slide member has the primary function of retracting the latchbolt 3| by operation of knob mechanism or equivalent mechanism whileactuated against pressure of the springs 35 and 4|) either by arotatable hub 15 or a slide bar (not shown) attached to a tab I6 in aposition on the outside of the case 25 when a grip handle mechanism isused in place of a knob. The case provides slots 11 for the tabs 16 toextend through.

The hub 15 is formed with annular bosses 88 which have rotatable bearingsupport in bearings 8| struck from the case halves 26 and 21. A squarehole 82 extends axially through the hub for reception of a squarespindle 83 actuated by one of the knobs 84. The hub comprises twoannular discs 85 spaced by a cam element 86. This cam has identical ends81 engageable with cam followers 88 in the form of projections struckinwardly from the main slide member 36 and accommodated in the spacebetween the two discs of the hub 15. Rotation of the hub will cause oneof the cam ends 81 to push its companion follower 88 back, thusretracting the main slide member. When the cam 86 is in neutral position(Figure the ends 81 are both in contact with the cam projections 88, andthis engagement limits the forward movement of the main slide member.

In constructing the latch assembly, the operating parts are assembled inthe case half 21, and the other half 26 is closed over them.

. The throat 28 provides interlocking means as follows: Transverse tabs90 project through slots 9|. The threat section 92 of each case half isformedwith a wing 93. At the corner angle of the throat section and wingis a slot 94 for the reception of a longitudinal tab 95 which is bent ata right angle as shown in Figure 3. throat is reinforced by theoverlapping throat sections, the parts are firmly interlocked againstboth transverse and longitudinal displacement, and a substantiallyrectangular cross section is provided to function as a bearing guide forthe latch bolt 3|. The wings 93 are in a common plane.

These wings have holes 96 for the reception of locating bosses 91provided in a face plate 98 and these bosses are secured by staking (seeFigure 5); The latch assembly and face plate are mounted in a door bywood screws |90 passed through holes 99 in the bosses 91.

Knob assemblies 2| which include the knobs 81 are secured on oppositesides of the door by the following means. A mounting plate H hasextending from it hollow threaded posts I62 and I03 which extend throughaligned holes I04 and ['05 in the latch case. Machine screws H16 and I0!pass through a mounting plate I08 and are threaded into the posts 102and I03. This ar- The '4 rangement enables the latch assembly to beinstalled in doors of different thicknesses without any adjustments inthe knob assembly or latch assembly, as the latch case can be shiftedlaterally parallel to the axes ofthe hollow mounting posts.

While the holes I04 and "35 are illustrated as mounting post indexlocators, eyelets, sockets, indentations or slots could be employed asequivalentsf The operation should be clear from the foregoingdescription. When the door, being open, is pushed shut, the bevelledface of the latch bolt 3| will engage the strike plate 24 and be pushedinwardly against the yielding pressure of the spring 46 until the latchbolt has cleared the edge N6 of the strike plate, whereupon the latchbolt will advance under spring pressure into the opening I provided inthe jamb. This action is accomplished without any movement of the mainslide member 36. Outward movement of the latch bolt is limited byengagement of the block 51 with the inside face of the cross piece 55 ofthe main slide member.

When it is desired to open the door, one of the knobs B4 is turned,which rotates the square spindle 83 and consequently the hub 15 and cam86, as the result of which one of the end portions 81 is urged againstone of the cam projections 88 which forces the main slide member 36rearwardly against the yielding pressure of the spring 35 andincidentally against the yielding pressure of the spring 46. Rearwardmovement of the main slide member takes with it the tubular member 38 ofthe latch bolt assembly and results in withdrawing the latch bolt untilit is clear of the strike plate, whereupon the door may be opened.

The end piece 55 of the U-shaped main slide member 36 substantiallyfills the latch case from top to bottom and along the sides, and thecentral portion substantially fills the case from side to side. Asliding fit in the case and the dual springs 35 oppositely disposedassure a free guided movement of the main slide member.

The whole device is compact, well balanced and smooth in operation. Itis easily installed in a door of any thickness, provides indexing holesfor alignment of knobs or equivalent trims, and requires no adjustments.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what isconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed hereinbut is to-be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace anyand all equivalent devices.

For example, the latch mechanism illustrated and described may bemodified in various ways either to further simplify the same or to addadditional features to it, such as the dead-locking mechanism describedand claimed in our copending application Serial No. 140,986, filedJanuary 28, 1950. A slightly modified form of the latch case of thepresent application is shown and described in the said copendingapplication, and the present application is therefore a continuation inpart of the said copending application.

The specific form of the latch case comprising two identical halves isconvenient and satisfactory from a manufacturing standpoint, but at somesacrifice of manufacturing economy may be fabricated of non-identicalhalves. The exact location and the number of the spacers is notcritical, those here shown being by way of illustration and not oflimitation.

The feature of an open interlocking throat providing a slide guide forthe latch bolt and in tegral mounting means in the form of wings orequivalent, which, in cooperation with a correctly designed face plate,permits a secure mounting against the face of the door, is imlatch bolt,each half having side walls and a bottom and each half comprising an endpiece on one of said walls at the open end, said end piece having atransverse'tab and a longitudinaltab, a throat section on the other ofsaid walls opposite the end piece of the opposite half, one edge of saidthroat section being joined to the bottom, and a wing joining the throatsection atright angles thereto and to the bottom, means forming a slotat the junction of the throat section and side wall adapted to receive,said transverse tab of the opposite half, and means forming a slot atthe junction of the wing and throat section adapted to receive thelongitudinal tab of the opposite half.

2. A latch casing comprising a pair of oppositecomplementary halveshaving an open endfor a latchbolt and an apertured face plate over'saidopen end, each half having side walls and a bottom and'each halfcomprising an end piece on one of said walls at the open end having atransverse tab and a longitudinal tab, a throat section on the other ofsaid walls opposite the end 6 ing a slot at the junction of the wing andthroat section adapted to receive the longitudinal tab of the oppositehalf, and staking means respectively on the halves and plate adapted toanchor said plate to said wings.

' 3. A latch casing adapted to the reception of a reciprocating spindleactuated latch bolt mechanism comprising a pair of oppositecomplementary sheet metal halves having an open end for the latch bolt,and an apertured face plate over said open end, each half having sidewalls and a bottom and each half comprising a separate end piece on' oneof said walls at the open end having a transverse tab and a longitudinaltab, a throat section on the other of said walls opposite the end pieceof the opposite half, one edge of said throat section being joined tothe bottom, and a wing joining the throat section at right anglesthereto and to the bottom, means on each half forming a slot at thejunction of the throat section and side wall adapted to receive saidtransverse tab of the opposite half bent over therein, and means on each.half forming a slot at the junction of the wing and throat sectionadapted to receive the longitudinal tab of the opposite half bent overtherein, each wing having a hole therein and apertured bosses on thefaceplate adapted to be received in said holes for staking the halvesand plate in assembled position.

FRED J. RUSSELL. RAYMOND W. DIETRICH. GEORGE B. SOLOVIEFF.

REFERENCES CITED The'following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,177,948 Schindler Oct. 31, 19392,382,663 Quigley et a1. Aug. 14, 1945 2,454,145 Erkkila Nov. 16, 1948 72,486,268 Erkkila Oct. 25, 1949

